The present invention relates to a folding work surface, and, more particularly, to a wall mounted folding table having pivotal supports members adapted to pivot about the wall and within themselves to afford structural support in an open table position, and folded containment in a closed, collapsed position.
Folding tables have for years been employed in homes, offices, public areas and even within motor vehicles to accommodate the intermittent needs of the occupants for both free space and a convenient work surface. The design and installation parameters for such work areas generally include limited space and the need for compactness during periods of non-use. For this reason, wall mounted folding tables have been designed and produced in many shapes, forms and hinged configurations.
Major considerations in the design of collapsible work surfaces have, in the main, been their ease of use and stability. Prior art solutions to these concerns have been varied. The most common approach has been a pair of pivotally interconnected support legs of equal length, which when folded, are axially aligned at 0.degree. relative to each other through an inter-connecting pivot point. In the open position, the support arms are rotated about their pivot point so that they are in axial alignment and comprise a straight strut. The support arms are generally secured in the open position by suitable locking mechanisms mounted at the intermediate point of pivot. Often a pair of laterally opposed support members are used to support the strut and work surface. The work surface itself is conventionally hinged to a wall mountable bracket or directly to the wall.
By definition, a folding table must readily collapse. This design function generally necessitates the disengagement of some strut locking mechanism and the prior art approach to such strut support aspects have been many. The "pin-slot" configurations is one example. A support and locking pin is mounted on one support arm segment for engagement with a slot or cutaway when the surface is raised. Cleats may also be used and are generally of the "self-actuation support" type which are disengaged by the raising of the table. It may be noted that such mechanisms are also commonly found in hinged articles other than work tables.
Other prior art strut locking and latch support approaches include slip latches, detent latches, slotted brackets and related fastening mechanisms. Such devices are shown and described in the following U.S. Patents.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Date ______________________________________ 1,224,129 May 1, 1917 2,483,899 October 4, 1949 2,843,436 July 15, 1958 2,943,896 July 15, 1960 3,113,533 December 10, 1963 2,031,287 February 18, 1936 3,249,073 May 3,1966 ______________________________________
From the above patents it may be seen that collapsible work surfaces utilizing pivotally connected support arms are well known in the prior art. Although such solutions have been found to be acceptable, certain problems have been found to be associated with structural mechanisms in general. Many structural latch devices are cumbersome to use, complicated to release, and due to the inherent design, subject to loading failure in the latch. More specifically, the problem is the "weak-link" characteristic of the assemblage. Often the open strut latch is not designed for supporting significant amounts of pressure. Once the latch breaks, the work surface is allowed to collapse. In this sense, the supporting latch is the weak link in the support network.
It would be an advantage to provide a collapsible work surface which would combine ease of use and simplicity of release with a strut support which is functionally rigid and does not manifest a structural dependence upon any latching device. The present invention provides such a structure wherein the support arm is constructed so that in the open position, the weight of the table is borne directly by a rigid support arm portion. The support arm assemblage thus does not require a separate structural latch and is engaged and disengaged simply by the raising of the work surface. In this manner a more structurally sound folding work station can be provided incorporating simplicity of design and reliable operation.